Letters: Compassion not competition

Response to “Human Society Support,” Sooke News Mirror, April 9, 2014 concerning its opening paragraph and misinformation. “My support is to the Victoria Humane Society,” states the writer, Ms. Effa, as suggesting there is a competition and that people need to choose between the Victoria Humane Society, (VHS,) and the Sooke Animal Food and Rescue Society (SAFARS).

First, we want to state the differences separating both societies. According to the writer, only VHS seems to have rules and policies, but because we all know this cannot be true let’s just talk about our charity’s different ethical approaches and principles.

SAFARS’ main principle is to never lose our empathy and compassion to humans and animals alike. Our mission has been consistent from the start and our goal is to help the less fortunate pet owners in our community keep their pets. An example is when I, personally, helped Ms. Effa walk her dog three winters ago during all the days she was in convalescence.

Regarding VHS’s ethical approach, we can use the reference we have from 2012 when Ms. Penny Stone was still the SPCA’s manager. It was me who asked her for help to assist Cathy Park before it would be too late. To my surprise, her response was to transfer me to the cruelty department instead of lending a hand to this lady who in the past rescued hundreds of cats and dogs from pain, starvation and abuse. Reference case: “Park called the SPCA, saying she needed to get rid of her animals to avoid cruelty charges. She was asking for help, and she knew she was starting to break down (Sooke News Mirror, February 26th, 2014 “Park given suspended sentence”).

Second, VHS was created in November 2013 by Penny Stone, by her longtime friend Carol Broad and others. Mrs. Broad is the president and Ms. Stone is the executive director.

Third, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, (CFHS), is composed by independent charities and these are not all shelters.

VHS or SAFARS are not affiliated with CFHS and; therefore, none of them have extra privileges. We are both registered charities. We invite readers to visit the federation’s website and to ask questions.